This is a place to read what I think about various books and to give your own opinions about books. I am a plain-spoken person but this is not the place for any hurtful words. Doesn't accomplish anything for anyone.

Monday, April 30, 2018

In 1973, Linda was a flute player and music major at a California community college, until she met and fell madly in love with a charismatic piano player, plunging into his world of music-making and drug-fueled parties. When, just three weeks after their wedding, he reveals that he's been "born again," Linda makes the spontaneous decision to follow him into his new religion and, unwittingly, into a life of communal living, male domination, and magical thinking.

With unflinching candor, Amber Starfire chronicles her journey as Linda Carr into the evangelical church culture, where she gives up everything for her husband and their music ministry. But in the process, she loses her most valuable assets: her identity and sense of self-worth. It is only when Linda returns to live with her birth family and faces her complicated relationship with her mother that she finds new purpose and the courage to begin to extricating herself from the limiting beliefs of her past.

Accidental Jesus Freak is the story of one woman, one marriage, and one kind of fundamentalism, but it is also the story of the healing that is possible when we are true to ourselves. Both a cautionary tale and celebration of personal empowerment, Accidental Jesus Freak is a powerful reminder for anyone who seeks to live a life authentic to who they truly are.

EXCERPT

As it happened, our formal outreach period coincided with the coldest winter Amsterdam had experienced in twelve years. The canals were frozen, and the famous Elfstedentocht speed-skating race or “Eleven Cities Tour” was on that year. The tour occurs only when it is cold enough to form ice at least fifteen centimeters thick along the entire 200 kilometer course. 1985 was one of those rare years when the temperature plummeted to 13 degrees

Fahrenheit and hovered there for six weeks. So, except for one or two memorable occasions, our outreach became a time of so called Inn-reach, because it was too cold to be out on the streets for long. We ended up going with YWAM’s night teams to proselytize in restaurants and nightclubs, as well as serve in the organization’s Christian coffee bar.

On one of the few outdoor occasions, we took all the children to the spacious plaza in front of Amsterdam’s Central Station and had them perform a dance while we played music and then preached. It was so cold that day, I wore my long wool coat and scarf and played flute with fingerless gloves. I worried that my lips would freeze to my flute. When it was time for the children to dance, we had them take off their coats, perform, and then bundled them back into their clothing and gave them steaming cups of hot chocolate.

Travelers and Amsterdam natives walked around us as if we were part of the structure of the plaza, pillars that stood in the way of their path, nothing more. Other than a few quick glances in our direction and eyebrows raised at the sight of the children during their dance, we were only another odd group of people on the streets.

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

What made you want to write
this book?

I have wanted to write
about this period of my life and about the Jesus Movement in the 70s and 80s —
how so many of us got caught up in that religious fervor — for quite a long
time. Before I could write this particular memoir, I had to do a lot of
research about the times and personal exploration about why I made the choices
I did and what were the biggest influences and factors in may life. Though my
story is unique in its own way, I think many readers will recognize themselves
in my struggle for self-identity and expression.

Was this book easier to write
than others?

I don’t think any book
is easy to write. Particularly memoir, which requires a lot of soul searching
and brutal honesty with oneself. That said, this memoir didn’t take as long to
write as my first memoir, Not the Mother
I Remember. I had more research material to sort through and a steep
learning curve with my first memoir, which I benefitted from when writing Accidental Jesus Freak.

Do you only write one genre?

I write in multiple
genres, including poetry and fiction, though I have published only memoir and
nonfiction self-help books on journaling and writing. My first published book
was a college text on desktop publishing, back in the late 90s before desktop
publishing gave way to the Print on Demand industry. Now, I’ve got a couple
ideas for novels that have been bouncing around in my mind for a while . . . who
knows what the future holds?

Do you have a specific place
or setting where you write?

Yes. Even though I have
an office in my home with a desk and desktop computer, my favorite place to
write is in a cozy corner of my office — sitting on my upholstered rocking
chair with my laptop. I usually rise early, before dawn, grab a cup of coffee
and head to what I affectionately refer to as “my corner.”

Describe what made you want
to be a writer.

I think I have always
been a writer. I began reading at a very young age — three years old — and
quickly became a voracious consumer of books. I loved fairy tales and fantasy
and anything about time travel, and so I wrote my own childish stories of
princesses and ghouls. My mother was an English teacher and also a writer, and
some of my earliest memories are of her at her typewriter, writing stories and
articles for magazines. She was a role model for me in that regard. In fact, I
taught myself how to type when I was eight. And my first published piece was a
letter to the editor when I was nine. However, as I grew into adulthood, I
didn’t pursue my writing dreams and put them to the side (some of the reasons
for this is in my memoir). And though I wrote professionally for my various
jobs, I didn’t return to creative writing until my late forties. So my journey
as an author has been a long and interrupted one. I finally feel as though I
have come home to myself.

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Amber Lea Starfire will be awarding a $50 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour (see below)

Amber Lea Starfire MA, MFA, is an author, editor, and creative writing coach whose passion is helping others tell their stories. She has published two memoirs: Accidental Jesus Freak: One Woman’s Journey from Fundamentalism to Freedom (2017) and Not the Mother I Remember: A Memoir — finalist for both the 2015 Next Generation Indie Book Awards and the 2013-2014 Sarton Women’s Literary Awards. She has also published several books of non-fiction, including Journaling the Chakras: Eight Weeks to Self-Discovery, and Week by Week: A Year’s Worth of Journaling Prompts & Meditations. Amber is co-editor of the award-winning anthology, Times They Were A-Changing: Women Remember the '60s & '70s. Her creative nonfiction and poetry have appeared in numerous anthologies and literary journals.

Friday, April 27, 2018

Another book set in Storyton and a place I’d love to live.Well, and eat, and sleep, and read; all the
true necessities of life. Surrounded by books and book conversations and more
books as well as good guys (the Fins) who are like the Knights in Shining Armor.
The Fins are always there watching over the dear twins, Fitz and Hem. Somehow I
just bet you readers can figure out who they are named after.

This book, well this whole series is like an enigma.Not something difficult to understand but
puzzling and secret; almost like a King Arthur and Excalibur story and a cozy
mixed together. It’s a mixture of this scene of a beautiful castle with
gorgeous gardens and a sleepy little town with cute and funny friends. There
are references to books many of us have read in our lives and of books most of
us would give almost anything to get just one look at.

Do I seem like I’m being a cheerleader? While it isn’t my
natural personality it is what I’m doing for this book. I suppose the previous paragraph
gives you an idea of just how well I think Adams has described both the scenes
and settings of this series and he has done just as well with his characters.
There are some wonderful people you would love and there are those you would hate
as in any mystery. He is so good at
characters and description that there is a cook I would give anything to meet
and to be able to eat at her table.And
his library scenes; I can just see myself curled up in a chair with a book on
my lap, surrounded by more books.See, it’s
so life like I forgot it was fiction again already.

This particular book is not numbered in this series titled “Book
Retreat Mystery” but by my count it is number 4. I have enjoyed all of Ellery
Adam’s series but this one just seems to be one of those stories you want to be
able to live in.Hurry up and write
another Ellery.

Thursday, April 26, 2018

If asked, Gwendolyn Ballard would admit she co-parented her best friend Chloe's son, Cameron. Now Gwen is all he's got as they flee from the man who murdered his mother. There's only one place Cameron will be safe, and that's with his uncle, Elijah MacElvoy. Arriving on his doorstep at the Broken Arrow Ranch is a desperate decision, and Gwen knows he'd slam the door in her face if she didn't have his nephew with her. But she'll do anything for Cam, even if it means putting up with Elijah's distrust and judgment.

Chloe's dead. Cam's orphaned, and Elijah is confronted with the prospect of living with the one woman who's driven him crazy for the past ten years. He'll fight to keep her safe. That's encoded in his DNA. But can he trust her with a little boy who just lost his mother? As Eli watches how Gwen loves and cares for his nephew, he reevaluates his thinking and gives in to the smoldering attraction he felt the first time he saw her. With so much on the line, Eli comes clean about his past, making way for a future that's all about silver linings.

EXCERPT

In the long, drawn-out moment that Eli stared at her, she saw something flicker in his expression. The flint gray eyes she remembered so well seemed to burn over her, his scrutiny like a physical touch. Gwen kept her feet locked to the ground even as the insane urge to turn and run surged through her.

He shifted his gaze to Cameron, then back to her. Cameron’s death grip nearly cut off the circulation in her fingers.

“Gwendolyn.” His deep voice held a timbre that, despite their mutual animosity, had always sent warm shivers down her spine.

“Elijah.” She held her breath as tension swelled, and waited for the door to slam in their faces. He stepped back.

“We can come in?”

With a mocking look, he opened the door wider. She let out her breath in a shaky sigh. Two dogs, the larger a Rottweiler mix, the smaller a fluffy black and white terrier, sat at alert, the terrier all but quivering in excitement. Stepping into the warm house, Gwen felt the fear and panic she’d been carrying ease a fraction, leaving behind an aching exhaustion. For tonight at least, she and Cameron were safe.

The dogs sat with butts planted. Keeping Cameron at her side, she held out a hand to each of them to let them get her scent.

Nerves jumping, Gwen straightened. She hadn’t seen Eli for over five years and the subtle signs of the passing of time were evident. While he still maintained the rangy, lean build he carried on a tall frame, his face showed fine lines fanning out from narrowed eyes. He wore his straight brown hair longer than she remembered, combed back except for where it fell across his forehead.

His bearing, the way he carried himself, made her think of a cowboy sheriff in the old West, tough and unshakable. After the terror of the past days, she needed someone with that unyielding steadfastness on her side. She really hoped that he would be on her side.

She could see the questions in the hooded eyes, but he didn’t ask why she had shown up at his door.

Cameron gave his uncle a cautious look. Eli must have sensed the boy’s reserve, because he crouched down on one knee. Gwen watched, curious as to how he would interact with his nephew.

“Cameron, this big guy is Bubba, and the little one is Oreo.” Eli’s voice was low and calming.

“Oreo?” Cameron leaned down to pet the little dog. “That’s because he’s black and white, right?” Oreo reached out a tongue to lick his hand.

Eli’s features softened fractionally. “Yeah, that’s right.”

Cameron flashed a brief smile, one of the first Gwen had seen in days. Eli rose and led them into the room. The entryway opened to a comfortable living room with a large couch and a recliner that invited curling up with a good book. A fire warmed the room from behind a wrought-iron screen, and a large area rug in front of it covered the knotted-pine floor. Even if Eli wasn’t exactly welcoming, his house felt homey.

“What took you so long to get here?” The abrupt question startled her. He had been expecting them? The idea that he had somehow known she would come to him, had been waiting for her, unsettled her, like there was some unspoken connection between them. And that didn’t bear thinking about.

MY REVIEW

Have you ever gone to knock on a door being a little afraid
you might not be welcome? Would you give
your life for a child that wasn’t yours? This is sort of a romantic western
with some definite suspense and I really enjoyed it. Actually I read it in a day. It was a page turner though. By a page turner,
I don’t mean it was a thriller by any means; it just had some very good moments
as well as that underlying suspense throughout.

The setting is an interesting one, way out where the cattle
are lowing and when Gwendolyn or Gwenny, takes her best friend’s son there, she
is really uncertain what the reception will be. An interesting set of
characters, neither with much family support and both with plenty of
stubbornness. These were all well-defined characters and let me tell you what
happened to me while reading. I got a little tired of this female being so
stubborn and going on and on about wanting to pay her way but two things
occurred to me. This author wrote well
enough to touch a nerve with me with just mere words and…I would have been and
have been that exact same woman.

Definitely worth a read.

**This book was provided to me free of charge in exchange
for an honest review.

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Diane will be awarding a $15 in Boroughs Bucks + a copy of Flash Point to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. (see below)

National Readers' Choice Award winner for her novel, Solitary Man, Diane Benefiel has

been an avid reader all her life. She enjoys a wide range of genres, from westerns to fantasy to mysteries, but romance has always been a favorite. She writes what she loves best to read – emotional, heart-gripping romantic suspense novels. She likes writing romantic suspense because she can put the hero and heroine in all sorts of predicaments that they have to work together to overcome.

A native Southern Californian, Diane enjoys nothing better than summer. For a high school history teacher, summer means a break from teenagers, and summer allows her to spend her early mornings immersed in her current writing project. With both kids living out of the house, in addition to writing, she enjoys camping and gardening with her husband. Diane loves hearing from her readers.

Tuesday, April 24, 2018

Most of us have too much stuff and not enough places to put it. Combine that with our hectic modern lives, and you’ve got a recipe for clutter catastrophe. Luckily, help is at hand. Hot Mess: A Practical Guide to Getting Organized can show you how to simplify your life—and get control of your stuff.

In this new guide to streamlining and organizing your belongings, your house, and your life, author and expert Laurie Palau gives you all the strategies you need to clear your clutter once and for all. This comprehensive book offers clever storage ideas and decorating tips, but more importantly, it shows you where your clutter comes from and how to change your approach. This makes it the definitive how-to for dropping all the dead weight that’s been keeping you stressed and anxious. Just follow the hacks, tips, and strategies Palau clearly outlines, and you’ll soon be sipping a vodka martini in your beautifully tidy living room.

Whether you’re naturally neat or a total chaos magnet, this informative and amusing guide takes an approach to organizing that’s as unique as you are. Let this witty little handbook be your new secret weapon in the war on disorder!

EXCERPT:

Before we get too far, I think it’s important that we all get on the same page. For most people, the word clutter conjures up scenes from Hoarders, or Grey Gardens with its mazes of magazines lining the hallways. You may even imagine feral cats, rodent droppings, and indistinguishable mounds of who-knows-what.

I’ll be honest; I can count on one hand (with three fingers to spare) how many times I’ve encountered a true hoarder. Yup, twice—you guessed it! It was very early in my career as a professional organizer, and it didn’t take me long to realize it wasn’t the right fit for me. It’s not so much that I was in over my head (no pun intended); the reality is that their struggles go deeper than piles of paper, overflowing loads of laundry, and rooms filled with toys. I am not a licensed psychologist, although I often like to think of myself as one, and the level of help they need is beyond what I can offer.

The majority of my clients are like you and me. Their days are spent running between work, school, PTA meetings, soccer practice, dance lessons, grocery shopping, overseeing homework, making dinner, looking after ailing parents, and whatever else we can fit into our days.

The result of all this life-madness is often a cluttered home, and with that, I can help.

MY REVIEW

I am truly an organized person. We have moved enough times for me to learn
that “less is more” or at least it’s more manageable. It’s kind of the motto in our house. However,
I am a great believer in always being able to learn something else. Not only
did I enjoy reading Palau’s book, I learned some tips, some new nuggets of ways
to handle part of my “stuff”. It made me
get started too. Even information can
become clutter and she even touches upon some apps and new software to
use. In fact, she touches on all kinds
of clutter; maybe that is the key to this book.
She talks about so many different kinds of clutter; makes you really internally
think about which type is your clutter and how you handle it or maybe how you
don’t handle it. No matter how organized you are I bet there are a few you
haven’t heard of or at least have not looked at from this perspective.

This is a very well put together book. It flows well and has many different layers
of information. Books on a subject like
this can sometimes be laid out as a long novel; difficult and sometimes
boring. This book was easy to read. Broken up in shorter chapters with questions
for you to think through along the way.

You could say “oh self-help books are all the same” but
Palau seems to have broken this down to a science. One which would help any of
us at any level of “cluttering”. I read
things I knew about but I don’t think I had looked at them in the same manner.
Here is a kind of clutter she mentions that sort of stopped me in my
tracks…calendar clutter. Put together with any other type of clutter you might
have, this can make life pretty overwhelming.

As I said above, I think this is well-written and
interesting and can be a help to anyone.

**This book was provided to me free of charge in exchange for an honest review.

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Laurie Palau will be awarding a FREE 30 minute phone consultation to help address specific organizing challenges to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

Laurie Palau is the founder of simply B organized, host of the weekly podcast, This ORGANIZED Life, and author of the book HOT MESS: A Practical Guide to Getting Organized available in paperback and kindle on Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

She is a go-to Organizing Expert whose advice has been featured in The New York Times Parenting Section, Family Circle, and Home + Table Magazine.Laurie can also be seen sharing tips on the CBS Philadelphia’s Morning Show & WFMZ in Allentown, PA. Whether speaking or working with clients Laurie is authentic, relatable, inspiring, and highly entertaining.

When not organizing the world, Laurie can be found at home in Bucks County, PA with her husband Josh, 2 girls (Zoe and Logan) and 2 dogs (Jeter and Oliver).She loves coffee and Tito’s Vodka (not together), and in her spare time she is actively involved with The St. Baldrick’s Foundation, which raises money for Pediatric Cancer Research.

Visit www.simplyBorganized.com for a complete list of service offerings including free organizing checklists, links to her podcast, blog and social media.

Sunday, April 22, 2018

Mia West is drawn to Cole Parker and she doesn't know why but each time he is around, she can't stop the pull, drawing her into dark secrets and closer to her past. Will she put the pieces of her life back together or just end up in his bed?

When she meets Jack, it's clear he wants Mia as his own but knows that to keep her means he has to keep her away from Cole. She wants to feel the spark with Jack but something keeps holding her back. Is it Cole or is there more to Jack than meets the eye?

When her past and present intersect, both men will give her reasons to run, the question is...whose arms will she run into.

Come Back to Me is the first book in the Forever series duet. The finale, Forever with Me, releases in June.

EXCERPT

Step three, take care of Carter Williams, once and for all. Enough is enough. If I believe

what my therapist says, I am not his victim. I am my own heroine and the time has come to rid myself of Carter the demon. It isn’t up to Jack to hold my hand, or Richard to keep me protected in some princess tower. I need to somehow free myself from Carter Williams so he can’t hurt or scare me again. This part of the plan is the least thought out… spontaneity is essential. Premeditation is always key when sentencing happens in a murder trial.

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Trilina is an author, wife, and mama to three rowdy kiddos. When she isn't making grilled

cheese sandwiches, she can be found writing saucy novels that titillate and excite her readers.

Trilina will be giving away...

An author selected package which includes a signed copy of the book, mug, water bottle, and other essentials for the avid reader

Thursday, April 19, 2018

If you love the suspense and plot twists of domestic thrillers, this page-turner will be for you. Seamus McCree’s first solo bodyguard assignment goes from bad to worse. His client disappears. His granddog finds a buried human bone. Police find a fresh human body.

His client is to testify in a Chicago money laundering trial. He’s paranoid that with a price on his head, if the police know where he’s staying, the information will leak. Seamus promised his business partner and lover, Abigail Hancock, that he’d keep the witness safe at the McCree family camp located deep in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan’s woods.

Abigail is furious at his incompetence and their relationship flounders. Even his often-helpful son, Paddy, must put family safety ahead of helping his father. Seamus risks his own safety and freedom to turn amateur sleuth in hopes he can solve the crimes, fulfill his promise of protection, and win back Abigail. Wit and grit are on his side, but the clock is ticking . . . and the hit man is on his way.

EXCERPT“Silver-tongued even as a kid. Comin back, he wore his money loud. Rentin a million-dollar spread on Chicaugon Lake. Sportin an Amasa bumper sticker on his brandy-new Escalade SUV was kinda rubbin everyone’s nose in it, wouldn’t you say? I know he tried callin some of the folks he knew, and they wasn’t much interested in seein him, ’cept a few of the guys who thought maybe they could hit him up for a job. My daughter, Jenny, and her husband turned down his offer to buy them dinner. You got me talkin, Seamus, and I don’t remember

what your question was. I didn’t get my nap this afternoon, and I’m feelin beat.”

“I’m not even sure I had one, and I don’t have the excuse of having a piano key for every birthday either. You want to stay here tonight rather than drive to town?”

“Oh, hell no. I woulda kept drinkin if I was gonna do that. I’m off. You give me a call first thing if Elliot shows. Otherwise, I’ll give Pete Bjork a holler, let him decide whether to call the sheriff.”

“Can I ask one more favor? Can you drop me near where I left my other ATV? I’ll walk in the rest of the way and bring it home.”

Owen produced a large yawn. “Roger Wilco that.”

What, Patrick wondered, did Owen mean using the name of the main character of the Space Quest science-fiction computer games he had discovered twenty years ago at a church rummage sale? A janitor with a quest for “truth, justice and really clean floors” didn’t seem to fit at all.

MY REVIEW

Seamus McCree is the kind of guy you love in books…breaks
the rules a little but always to get to the truth and do the right thing. Just what I always want my heroes to be like.
Someone saving me from the Happy Reaper. He reminds me a little of Travis McGee
and I loved reading about him, the people who care about him and the people he
cares about. In the midst of this tough, grimy chase for murderers, Seamus has
a grandchild which allows us to see many sides to him. That’s part of what
makes this such an easy and yet exciting read.

If this is the paragraph that a reviewer is supposed to talk
about the skills of the writer then I need lots of room. This book is
well-written in pretty well all of the ways we learned a book was supposed to
be built. I think you already have an idea of what I think about this
storyline. This plot and its development have you sitting on the edge of your
seat much of the time. The reason the
story is so gripping is because Jackson is excellent at calming you down,
describing beautiful scenery where you really begin to enjoy yourself and then
boom (did I say boom) well…it feels like that when he surprises you with
something you just did not expect. As far as his characters are concerned, they
fit right into this story and he teaches you to know them and most importantly
to be a part of them. You know what
happens then don’t you? You never ever put the book down. That’s how a good
writer crafts a story that you live in until the end. Now I’ll have to sit on
the edge of my seat waiting for another book.

**This book was provided to me free of charge in exchange for an honest review.

His answers are as interesting as his book.

AUTHOR Bio and Links: (Really an exciting Giveaway by the author below)

James M. Jackson authors the Seamus McCree series consisting of five novels and one novella. Jim splits his time between the deep woods of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and

Georgia’s Lowcountry. He claims the moves between locations are weather-related, but others suggest they may have more to do with not overstaying his welcome. He is the past president of the 700+ member Guppy Chapter of Sisters in Crime. You can find information about Jim and his books at http://jamesmjackson.com. You can follow him on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads and/or Amazon.

Tuesday, April 17, 2018

Hidden in the shadows of our world, supernatural creatures wage war for the fate of humanity.

Euadaemons protect the innocent, Kakodaemons desire absolute power. Both have altered Krista Culver’s life. After spending the past ten years as a Drone for evil, she’s finally awake and doesn't want to waste another moment. No one will stand in the way of her kicking Kako butt. Not her sister, not her father, not even her incredibly tempting boss.

Racine is about to go mad trying to find his evil twin brother responsible for the Kako uprising, but Rysis is in the wind. Adding to his problems, Krista returned from Enforcer training. Gone is the sweet girl. In her place is a fierce woman who stirs something deep inside. Something he thought long dead and buried.

As their desires grow so does the danger surrounding them. The Kako threat is mounting and the time for a reckoning has come.

EXCERPT

“Shut up and help me kill this thing,” she replied.

He cursed, saying something about stubborn women. She smiled, knowing she had won this small battle. Now they just needed to win the next one, the one currently walking toward them with pointy teeth and a look that promised death.

The Cer, as tall and large as Racine, stopped a few feet in front of them. It opened its massive jaws to let out another bloodcurdling shriek. Her Tira charged, sword up and swinging toward the massive beast’s head. The Cer ducked the blow with impressive speed.

Krista threw one of her knives. It landed with a satisfying thunk right in the Cer’s side. The beast howled in pain. Its red eyes narrowed on her. It pulled the blade from its side, hissing through massive fangs. She threw her other knife, landing it straight in the

Cer’s chest. If she could distract the monster, maybe Racine could sneak up on it and cut off its head.

The Cer staggered with the new blow, but didn’t fall. In fact, it only looked angrier. Great, she just pissed off a minion of hell and now she only had one weapon left. She left her rods back at base, but still wore her whip belt. Pulling the weapon from her waist, she faced the Cer.

“Come on ugly, I don’t have all night.”

“Do you have to taunt the creature currently trying to kill us?” Racine asked beside her.

“Well, I’m not going to sing it love songs.”

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Mariah Ankenman will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

Mountains with her two rambunctious daughters and loving husband who provides ample inspiration for her heart-stopping heroes.

Whether she’s writing hometown heroes or sexy supernaturals, Mariah loves to lose herself in a world of words. Her favorite thing about writing is when she can make someone’s day a little brighter with one of her books.

Monday, April 16, 2018

Brandon Kidd thought he overcame his demons. He thought he’d conquered his addiction to booze and his need to be promiscuous. He thought he’d left his depression behind. Why? He met and is dating Aydin, the man who stokes his muse. But the depression and his insecurity have come back, and he’s also got to pass his annual review for his fine arts program. He’s got to get through the grueling review, open up to Aydin and have the Valentine’s Day he deserves?

Aydin loves Brandon. He sees the changes in his boyfriend and wants to help, but how do you help when you don’t know the problem exactly? To compound the problem, Brandon’s brother, Benson, has started causing trouble. Benson doesn’t want his brother to be gay, let alone in a relationship. Aydin found the strength to admit he wanted to be with Brandon. Aydin’s come into his own. Will he be enough for Brandon or will the crushing outside influence be too much to overcome?

Aydin sighed. Instead of focusing on the things he couldn’t change, he centered his attention on dinner. He pulled the ziti from the oven, then once it cooled enough to handle, plated a serving each for him and Brandon. He glanced over at the living room and Brandon

on the couch. Until he’d opened up to Brandon, he hadn’t thought he’d fall in love. Geeky guys who cared more about lighting and special effects weren’t the ones who got the hot men. But he’d landed Brandon. If love was possible, then he wanted to fall head over heels with Brandon. Maybe he already had. He wouldn’t have posed for anyone else. He poured two glasses of sparkling cider.

Brandon appeared in the doorway. “Want help?”

“I do.” He paused. “So…do you want to talk about whatever is eating you?”

Brandon picked up the plates. “I noticed the rose on the coffee table.”

“Good dodge.” He scooped up the forks, napkins, and cider glasses. “I know it’s not exciting, but it’s kind of chick-y. I though you could use the rose for a drawing or two after tonight.” He shrugged. “Happy Valentine’s Day.”

“Happy Valentine’s Day.” Brandon hurried into the bathroom. “I’ll be right back.”

Aydin sank onto the sofa. Brandon wasn’t kidding—relationships were hard. More so when one partner wouldn’t talk to the other. He busied himself with arranging the plates on the coffee table. The rose did look striking between the bowls. He wasn’t a connoisseur of flowers, but he liked the fragrance of the rose.

“Are you okay?” Aydin asked. “Do I need to rescue you?”

“I’m good.”

Aydin slid onto the floor and rested his elbows on the coffee table. He wished he were good, too. Maybe he just needed to be patient. Brandon would explain what was wrong, and they could tackle the issue together. A man could hope, right?

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Megan will be awarding a bracelet made by the author and a signed swag pack to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. (see below)

Megan Slayer, aka Wendi Zwaduk, is a multi-published, award-winning author of more than

one-hundred short stories and novels. She’s been writing since 2008 and published since 2009. Her stories range from the contemporary and paranormal to LGBTQ and BDSM themes. No matter what the length, her works are always hot, but with a lot of heart. She enjoys giving her characters a second chance at love, no matter what the form. She’s been the runner up in the Kink Category at Love Romances Café as well as nominated at the LRC for best author, best contemporary, best ménage and best anthology. Her books have made it to the bestseller lists on Amazon.com.

When she’s not writing, Megan spends time with her husband and son as well as three dogs and three cats. She enjoys art, music and racing, but football is her sport of choice. Find out more about Megan and Wendi at: http://wendizwaduk.com/indexMegan.htm Sign up for the newsletter here:NEWSLETTER